Brilliant Ways To Make Holiday Travel Easier

This shop has been compensated but all opinions are mine alone. When October 1st rolls around, I get in full on holiday mode. We, like many families, have the big four coming up. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas. What?! Black Friday isn’t a big holiday in your house?! It is in mine. Muahahahah! The majority of our family lives out of town, so we do lots of travel during the holidays. If you are traveling this year, here are some brilliant ways to make holiday travel easier:

Set A Budget: Set out a budget and stick to it! Do your research for hidden costs when you travel. This can include hotel parking, attractions and transportation costs. Unplanned expenses can throw a wrench into your budget and could ruin your fun. I bring a bag of change for toll roads, parking meters and tips.

Find Deals: When you are traveling on a budget, coupons, rewards, deals and cashback sites are key. TopCashback.com saves you money on products and travel sites you already use. If you have rewards from hotels, rental agencies and credit cards, consider using them when you travel during the holidays. Booking early can save you money as well.

Travel Dates: Check the hotels and airlines for the most heavily traveled days. If possible, travel before or after. We have celebrated Christmas the weekend before or after with my daughter to save on travel costs.

Plan Ahead: Lower your stress by making a list of what you need to take on your trip. Pack as much as you can a day or two ahead. Get the kids to lay out their clothes, toys, and activity goodies. Getting the kids involved saved you time and makes them feel involved in the plans.

Shop Ahead: When we travel, we usually drive. I pack snacks and drinks in a cooler to keep food costs down. Most hotels have a fridge, so we can keep everything fresh for the duration of the trip. We pick up a few items at the local grocery store to supplement. For other travel necessities, I use TopCashback.com . I buy everything from the Birdie 2-in-1 hand sanitizer from Olika to Bug Band Bed Bugs No More (just in case!) I love using my cash back rebates I earn for Christmas shopping!

Protect Your Valuables: Most hotels have a safe for your valuables. But what about when you are on the go? We had a robbery at a rest stop a few years ago. It was devastating. If we had the AquaVault® Portable Outdoor Safe, the outcome would have been different. I love this! It can hold my wallet, watch, mobile phone, jewelry, keys and other valuables. You can set your own unique code and it attaches to your beach chair, stroller or even a golf cart.

You can purchased all of these awesome travel items through TopCashback.com. Talk about brilliant ways to to make holiday travel easier! Saving money is my favorite! Whole most cashback sites will give a fraction of a commission back to you, TopCashback is the ONLY site that returns 100% of the commission back to shoppers as a cashback rebate. And it is FREE to join!

Signing up is simple! You just go to TopCashback.com and create an account. Once you have your account set up, log in and search for a retailer. Then you just hit ‘Get Cashback Now’. The site will automatically redirect you to make your purchase at the retailer’s website. Behind the scenes, TopCashback will be able to see how much you’ve spent and award your cashback account with the appropriate rebate. It really is that easy! Be sure to follow TopCashback on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

How would you like to win a Holiday Travel Goodies Prize Pack valued at $75? It includes everything in the last photo. Just enter below and good luck!

I look for deals all the time but especially when we travel. One tip I can offer is when you’re looking for flights on various sites. If you look up a flight it is noted by the site. Then that registers interest in that flight which means that the next time you check it, the price will have gone up. So don’t keep going back and forth checking too much. Check for sites that alert you to low fares.

keep medicine on hand wipes on hand and keep a stash of cash not credit cards on hands it freaks me out bed bugs that is i always check when i go to hotels after seeing 20/20 show about it just be safe

We don’t do a whole lot of traveling, especially during the holidays. All of our family live close by except for my brother and his family. When we do travel, we drive and take drinks/snacks in a cooler with us. Thanks for the tips and for a chance to win!!

These are great tips! It can be so stressful when you have to pay for everything for Christmas then you have to pay for travel on top of that. I will have to check out topcashback.com. I think we could definitely use one of those vaults too.

I do not travel during the holidays. I have 5 kids and a bonus child and I don’t want to be like the family on Home Alone-lol. But if I did I would say pack lightly and make sure you stay somewhere that a washer/dryer are available.

– clean out car beforehand, only put back in what you need for the trip
– wash the windows at every gas station, its more pleasant when you can see out the windows
– eat healthy. Buy snack food that is healthy and keep it in a small cooler. Eating junk snack food bought from gas stations will just make you feel sick
– go for a brisk walk when you stop for gas or food, even if it’s just a couple of loops around the store

When we travel I always pack a medicine kit cause it seems someone is always getting sick and depending where u are going some places charge you a arm and keg just for a bottle if motrin.. So I come prepared . I also pack extra snacks and drinks and stuff for the kids to do.

For our family it is …. SNACKS and lots of them! We realized early on that empty tummies while traveling makes for and uncomfortable/trying times. We want to enjoy our family time together and make memories not situations that might have been avoided by just having a little something in our bellies. ;o)

When going on trips I like to pack my own food. I have a cooler that plugs into the cigarette lighter and also converts to a regular plug. I also like to look up weather to know that type of clothes to pack.

My tip for traveling during the Holidays is to try to do it by car! I have never had luck at airports and they are always so stressful on their own. I would much rather just relax and enjoy time with my family, it is great to be able to stop and see the sights along the way as well.

To make holiday travel easier, give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport and and get through the TSA checkpoints to minimize your stress or prevent missing any of your flights. I would rather have a long wait at the airport than risk missing my flight.

We travel by car. We have a bag packed with a change of clothing, a supply of meds, an extra blanket, and emergency supplies. This bag stays in the car and isn’t part of our packed luggage. This way we have clean, dry clothes if the kids spill a drink, someone gets sick, or we get stuck somewhere and have to stay in the car.

Planning ahead as much as possible is key for travel during the holidays. Another tip that I have found beneficial is to pack essentials and skip on things that probably aren’t needed for the environment that is being traveled to. For example, if traveling to a relatives house, extra towels may not be needed but preparing ahead of time by asking about it is helpful.

Have activities in the car handy. I always bring a stain remover stick….. and yes …. it is for me. I always seem to get something on my shirt. I seriously need an adult bib while eating and while drinking a coffee. lol

I would say have a plan and stick to it! Pack plenty of snacks and drinks. Some entertainment for the kids is always good. Try and keep stops to a minimum. We usually drive in the evening so the kids sleep in the car.

To make holiday travel easier, we try to travel before or after most people are on the road. Also make sure you know where you can get gasoline if you are traveling early in the morning or late at night.

To make holiday travel easier, if at all possible we choose to drive through the night since it seems to make things easier on the kiddos that way. And also, I try & have plenty of snacks & activities handy for the kids when they are awake!

When flying, just have your carry on…the less you have the better. Also read all the requirements for liquids and electronics to save time. Most of all drink water and stay hydrated to maintain energy. Buy the water at one of the stores near the boarding area’s after you pass the security…lol.

My number one advice would be to always build in enough extra time that you can roll with the punches if there are delays or cancellations. Also? Portable phone battery chargers are a lifesaver — competition at airport electrical outlets can be fierce 😀

I always make sure I prepare everything in advance. I usually travel out of state for the holidays so I need to pack light & make sure I have everything before hand. My trips usually go very smoothly !

I think you really did cover it all. I would add make sure you have enough of the medications anyone traveling needs. I can’t believe the tomes i have left important medications and had to turn around or hustle to be ab;e to pick them up where we aere traveling.

We always pack things to drink and snack on and then the kids tablets so they can watch movies or play games. Everyone has their ear sets on so there is no noise except me talking to everyone who can’t hear me.

Something simple is telling myself to stop going into trips expecting them to be stressful. A lot of times it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s a lot more relaxing when I decide to truly try to enjoy long holiday trips. Things like traffic and such are not going to change, so no need to get bent out of shape over it.